2023-10-01 10:27:25
The two attackers were killed in an attack in the heart of the Turkish capital Ankara on Sunday. The Interior Ministry spoke of two “terrorists,” one of whom blew himself up in front of an entrance to the ministry. The second person involved was “neutralized”. Two police officers were slightly injured in an exchange of fire.
The explosion occurred in the parliamentary district of the Turkish capital, which is also home to numerous ministries. In Parliament, the start of the new session was scheduled for Sunday; President Recep Tayyip Erdogan wanted to give a speech.
After the attack, Turkish police bomb disposal teams carried out controlled demolitions. There is no reason to panic, the police informed the population on Sunday on the Twitter (X) platform. It said there had been incidents with “suspicious packages”. The NTV broadcaster reported that parliament was being searched for explosives by security forces.
The two police officers injured in the attack were receiving medical treatment. Both are not in mortal danger, Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya reported on Twitter (X).
It was initially unclear who was behind the attack. Nothing was initially known regarding the identity of the attackers.
Turkish media reported on the exact course of the attack on Sunday that the two attackers drove a Renault Kangoo to the Ministry of the Interior at around 9:30 a.m. local time (8:30 a.m. CEST). Armed with rifles, they tried to get past the guards into the ministry, but failed. One of the two then blew himself up. Prosecutors imposed a news blackout on the issue, the Justice Department announced.
There have been repeated attacks in Turkey in the past. In November 2022, a bomb exploded on Istanbul’s Istiklal shopping street, killing six people. According to the Turkish government, the attacker had connections to the Syrian Kurdish militia YPG, which the Turkish government sees as an offshoot of the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). The YPG denied being behind the attack. In 2016, twelve Germans were killed in a suicide attack by the terrorist militia “Islamic State” in the historic center of Istanbul.
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